I Volunteer | Jack Schlossberg | Friends to lovers

And so it begins

Annie woke up the next morning to the email she'd been anticipating—Congratulations on becoming a volunteer! We'll have you come in this week to get your volunteer badge set up. You can sign up for shifts below.

While on paper she might not have been the best student, she really did love history. Looking at why things were the way they were, and how they got to be that way, was one of life's simple pleasures to her, and never got old. With this volunteership, she was looking for a way to open more doors into that world. She envisioned herself making friends, reading books, and taking advantage of the free museum passes that came as a perk.

She laid her phone face down on the dresser and took a little breath. This was only the beginning, she could feel it.

On her first day, Annie woke up five hours before her shift to make sure she had time to walk, eat, shower, and also leave a little extra room for an anxiety-induced stomach ache that was inevitable.

When the time came to head to the museum, she grabbed her tote bag, looked at herself in the mirror—she was wearing her favorite outfit; black trousers, a white crewneck, and a polo button down (unbuttoned of course)—and then she was on her way.

The first few hours of her shift were boring. She learned all about the museum's history: why it was founded, how it was founded, how it's still around, and how it aims to serve the public. In the afternoon the real show began. Susan set her up at one of the exhibits and instructed her to take tickets as people entered the theaters.

"There's a show every 15 minutes. If they ask any questions you don't know the answers to, just ask Alex over there and she can help you," Susan said, pointing to a woman Annie's age with short blonde hair standing in front of the adjacent theater. The woman waved and gave a half smile.

"Just let me know," Alex hollered. "I've got you." Annie gave her a thumbs up and a nod in return.

Two hours into ticket-taking, Annie got the first question she didn't know the answer to. "Are the films always the same, or do they ever get updated or swapped out?" Annie glanced over at Alex with a helpless look on her face, but Alex was already crossing the room.

"Eleven months out of the year they are the same. Sometimes we have special showings for a limited time, but those vary from year to year." The man thanked Alex, and Annie echoed his thanks.

"I appreciate the help," Annie said. "I'm Annie. First day."

"Always happy to. Nice to meet you. I've been here for about a year so while I don't know everything, I can probably help with most things."

"Damn, a year. Do you plan on sticking around longer?"

"For sure. It started off as a community service thing, but now I just genuinely love spending time here. The people are quirky and the building is peaceful. Also, it's pretty cool when the Kennedys actually visit. The energy is insane."

"Wait, they actually come here? Often?"

"Not often per se, but yearly if not more. Caroline and her family."

Annie took a second to thumb through all of the info she knew about Caroline Kennedy off the top of her head: married a man with the last name Schlossberg, had two daughters and a son, served as an Ambassador for the US. That's all she had, though.

"That's... actually really cool. Have you seen them? Or met them?"

"Seen yes, met no. It gets pretty hectic. I did make eye contact with the son once though. He is easy on the eyes, to say the least." Annie chuckled. She'd seen a few thirst trap edits of him on her For You page before, so she was aware he was handsome. 

"Hmmm, good to know," Annie said with a raise of her eyebrows, and Alex chuckled.

The rest of the day flew by, and just as Annie was unlocking her car Alex popped up with a man standing next to her. He stuck out his hand, "Michael, it's nice to see a new face around here. It's gotten stale." Annie reached out and shook the man's hand. 

"We like to go to a bar a few blocks away after the shifts we work together. Care to join?" Annie clutched her tote bag and nodded her head up and down.

At the bar, Annie observed as Alex and Michael quipped back and forth. They seemed to have a unique chemistry—she wondered if they were more than friends.

"So, tell us about yourself. What brought you to JFK?" Michael asked, snapping Annie out of her own head.

"Well, I just got divorced actually." She watched both of their eyes widen at the word divorce. This happened every time. "No it's fine, it's been a blessing, truly." Their expressions softened. "So I've finally decided to pick up hobbies that I had been neglecting since all of my energy isn't being poured into this one thing anymore."

"Well damn, that's inspiring as hell," Alex said.

"Yeah, huge respect to you," Michael said, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "Do you feel like that's helping?"

"For sure. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I'm me for the first time ever, really. Before I got married, I lived in Georgia in the same city as my family, so even though I wasn't limited by a husband, I was limited by my family. This is the first time in my life where all decisions are made solely by me. It's kind of amazing."

A smile slid across Alex's face, starting at one end and making its way to the other. "I knew I liked you for a reason. That's so badass."

"What about you guys?" Annie asked, looking back and forth between her new friends.

"I've been obsessed with the Kennedys since I was a kid," Michael said. "Their impact on America, the Kennedy curse, all of it. I wrote my college thesis on JFK's Inaugural Address which really solidified the borderline obsession. So I figured I might as well immerse myself in all of it."

"And I was just bored," Alex said, shrugging. "Kidding, I needed community service hours for work. And I, too, find the family fascinating."

"It would be so hard not to. I mean especially the Kennedy curse. It's actually wild how many of them have died." Alex and Michael nodded their heads, and all three took a sip of their drinks.

"So," Alex said, "When do you work next?"

"Next Saturday. I'm pretty limited to weekends," Annie answered.

"Perfect, we work Saturdays too. Next week, we're going out."